I'll Have You
by Rasiaa
Summary: In the upcoming storm, the wind blew hard, almost drowning out her whispered response. Almost.
1. Gravestone

It was usually quiet on May second. Classes were cancelled, and most students spent the day sleeping in or catching up on homework. Some went out to the Three Broomsticks to have a drink with their friends. A lot of them sat by the lake and enjoyed the fresh spring air. Other students took their broomsticks and made their way down to the field to play.

Teddy wasn't most students.

While other students somewhat enjoyed the day off, Teddy wished nothing more than for the day to be over, or, at the very least, for it to be filled with activity. Something to get his mind off of everything that was wrong with his life.

He sank to his knees on the ground, resting his forehead on the cool, damp stone in front of him with a shuddering sigh. The prickling behind his eyes signaled another set of tears. He thought that he had cried himself to death over his seventeen years of life, but sometimes that didn't seem to be enough. It was never enough.

A cold hand on his back warned him to the presence of another. He hadn't even registered anyone else, but one whiff of the air told him it was only Victorie. She sat next to him, giving a silent comfort. She had the tact not to say anything, unlike just about everyone else in their mixed up family. Al wouldn't have said anything, and Lily probably would have only hummed, but everyone else would have tried to coax him out of the depression he fallen into once again.

"I miss them sometimes," he whispered. Victorie said nothing in response, only grabbed his hand and held it loosely. "Usually, I'm okay, because I have Mum and Dad…rather, Ginny and Harry. Ginny and Harry," he repeated, "my godparents. My adoptive family."

Victorie squeezed his hand. Still, she said nothing, and for that, Teddy was immensely grateful. He knew she would never say a word. "Grandma Andy is the only blood relative I have left, Vic, and she's not long for this world anymore. She'll rejoin the Blacks, Mum, and my grandfather soon. I'll miss her, of course, but I don't feel like I'll be alone. I'll have everyone else."

He lifted his head from his parents' gravestone with great difficulty to look at his long-time best friend and girlfriend. He reached forward and ran his fingers over her pale cheek, and he saw her eyelashes flutter. He smiled slightly. "I'll have you, won't I?" he muttered, just quiet enough for her to hear. He tucked a strand of pale, Veela blonde hair behind her ear and leaned forward, his lips ghosting over hers. "I'll have you, Victorie Weasley." He kissed her harder, then pulled away and finished, "And that's more than enough for me."

She smiled, and they sat there, foreheads pressed together, eyes closed. Time passed, and as the wind picked up with the upcoming storm, her whisper was almost lost. Almost. "Always, Teddy. You'll always have me."


	2. Dreadful

It's the middle of the night, and it's almost as if Teddy can see the moon traveling across the sky. In reality, the moon is shrouded by storm clouds, and he can only estimate where the round orb is. September is fast approaching. Tomorrow Victorie and all of Teddy's younger family members will board the train to Hogwarts, and for the very first time, Teddy will be alone. There will be no one for him to talk to, or to just be a little kid with. Harry, of course, will be off with Aunt Hermione to teach at Hogwarts, and Ginny will be everywhere and nowhere all at once. Every one of his aunts and uncles have jobs and things to do.

He can only be grateful that it lasts no longer than one school year.

He glances from the window to the stairs, where Victorie has appeared. He smiles at her tiredly, before turning back to see the nearly full moon peaking through the clouds. He can see his girlfriend's reflection approaching him from behind. She takes the empty space in front of him, forcing herself to sit in his lap with his arms around her to keep her upright and in place. She leans back with a little, short hum of approval, her light blue eyes falling closed.

He presses a quick kiss into her hair before looking out the window again.

"Are you upset?"

Her voice sounds through the empty room quietly over an hour later. It startles him out of his musings, which he is grateful for. "Hmm?" he asks, more for clarification than having not heard her.

She waves her hand in a circular motion absentmindedly. "You've graduated, and the Ministry currently doesn't have an opening in the Department of Care of Magical Creatures. So you won't have anything to do, or anyone to talk to. Plus, I've always heard the first year away from Hogwarts is hard."

She hit the nail right on the head, as always. He sighs and buries his nose in her hair. "You're too clever by half," he mutters, nuzzling her head. She giggles, airy and light.

"So I've been told, Mr. Lupin," she replies easily, and he knows they're playing that game again.

He grins, and replies, "Have you now, Ms. Weasley? Where would you have heard such a thing?"

She shrugs slightly. "Here and there, good sir. It's common knowledge, you know."

"Is it really? I must be dreadfully out of the loop, then."

She snorts, and repeats, "Dreadfully? Really, Teddy? Who the hell says 'dreadfully' anymore? It's positively dreadful."

"Why, all of those dreadfully dreadful people simply have to say dreadful, because if they don't, they're not quite so dreadful anymore, and where's the fun in that? Besides, it's a good word, not one that should be left to die oh-so dreadfully."

Her laughter is infections, and soon the couple is trying desperately to keep quiet to keep from waking the twenty other people in the house. Soon, though, she sobers, and tilts her head back to look at him. "Seriously, though, Teddy, you're alright?"

He smiles at her, and says the first thing he can that's truthful, "I will be."

She opens her mouth to respond, but is distracted by the crack of lightning across the sky and the deep, powerful rumble of thunder outside. He blinks at the sudden rain, and mutters, "I wondered when that would happen."

Victorie simply hums her response. Then, "You have me, you know. Every weekend, floo to the Three Broomsticks, and I'll be sure to meet you there, okay?"

"Okay, Vic," he agrees. "I love you. I'm glad that you're here."

"Love you too. I'm glad _you're_ here, never mind me."


	3. Accident

They had graduated last week. It was a joyous affair. The second child of the generation after the great Harry Potter had succeeded the Hogwarts experience and everyone was so proud. Victorie was showered with praise, gifts, love and good times she was certain would stick with her forever. She finally saw the Second Wizarding War from the memories of the veterans. She was going out with her friends and with Teddy nearly everyday since she was taking the year off before she went to work. St. Mungo's sent her several job opportunities via owl.

Life was good. It was happy. It was full of life, bursting with potential.

Then Xander died.

When Victorie heard the news that her best friend (aside from Teddy) since eleven had been killed in a muggle car accident, she collapsed where she stood and lost it. Her cries were loud and heartbreaking, violent and grief-stricken. Her breath came in short gasps, and she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She felt her tears on her face, falling onto her arms and summer dress. She was all alone in the house, as everyone else was a work, so her sobs echoed throughout the empty structure, no one around to provide her some much needed consolation.

Hours passed, and the sun moved across the sky, the world still living and breathing around her small home without pausing. She had half-hoped that the world had ceased when Xander did, because it wasn't fair. They were only children still, really, fresh out of school and ready to face the world and all its challenges. Too bad Xander never would.

The thought pulled the air from her lungs viciously, breaking her ribcage and leaving her dizzy with horror and guilt. With effort, she surged up to her feet, and dragged herself into the chair nearby. She folded herself into it, and listened mindlessly to the soft patter of spring rain beginning to fall outside. It hit the roof with quiet pats, lulling her into a dreamlike state where she was not quite asleep but not really awake, either.

It was in this mindless, broken state that Teddy found her, twenty minutes later, five hours, sixteen minutes, and twenty two seconds since she had heard of Xander's death. Twenty three, twenty four, twenty five…

She was roused by his cold hand on her face, and the soothing murmur of his voice. Wordlessly, when he asked after the source of her pain, she handed him the letter that had brought her world crashing down. He scanned it silently before pulling her from the chair and into his lap. She barely registered the feel of him burying his face in her white blonde hair. She did, however, catch his faded whisper, "You'll always have me, you know. I'm here for you."

"Yes," she breathed back, almost unaware of her own words. "I'll have you."


	4. Cancer

The fire was dying down, but Teddy's thoughts were only just getting started. He scribbled furiously on the parchment before him, thinking back to the lesson earlier that day to recall the information on how many ways a salamander tail could be used in potions. Fourteen different ways came to him quickly enough; other ways were remembered gradually as he wrote. The rain continued its fall outside, the lightning assisting his headache every so often.

After a while, he felt the couch dip beside him and a head leaned on his shoulder. A quick glance at the platinum blonde and pink hair told him it was only Victorie, so he ignored her until she was ready to talk. The essay was almost finished anyway.

"May isn't feeling well again. They say she might not make it this time," Victorie mumbled, just as the essay was finished. Carefully, he laid it out to dry, capping the lid on his ink and setting down his quill. He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer, pressing a kiss into her hair.

May was one of those extremely unlucky teenagers to have developed cancer before she graduated. Losing all of her long, beautiful brown locks had been hard enough on the girl, in addition to all of the missed classes and rumors and hospital visits. One would think magic would have been enough to cure her, but cancer was a special kind of sickness. She was muggle-born anyway, so her parents didn't really trust the magic, preferring muggle medicine and muggle cures over magical ones. St. Mungo's had been their last choice, their final resort, but it was too late. She was terminal- it was only a matter of time before she couldn't take it anymore.

The thought of losing May- one of Victorie's oldest, most beloved friends- was devastating for her. Teddy wished in vain that there was something he could do, but he couldn't do anything more than the doctors could, and comfort had never been his strongest suit.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, hating his incompetence.

She sniffed and breathed deeply. "I'll have you, though, right? You'll stay with me through this, even though you don't know her?"

"Of course," he said instantly. "Of course you will. I'll stay with you."


End file.
